


Even Daemons Need Love

by DragonGirl218



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Accursed!Ardyn, Angst with a Happy Ending, Consensual PromDyn, Daemon!Prompto, Fluff and Angst, Gilgamesh is a minor character btw but still important in the beginning, Healer!Ardyn, Light Angst, Other, anything with before and after ardyn is angst lets be real, i really doubt sex will happen but romance is definitely a possibility, no badtouch chancellor, prompto isn't human but still has all his personality traits, sentient daemon friend, so this is a really weird au lol, will probably add more tags later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 13:29:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15001877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonGirl218/pseuds/DragonGirl218
Summary: What happens when a daemon develops sentience and emotions? How does the Savior become the Saved?An eternal friendship, of course.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So... full disclosure, this is a really weird AU lol. But it'll be cute and charming and surprisingly fluffy, and feel free to comment with questions if something seems confusing~

The little inky-black creature formed seemingly from the ground itself, turned its head towards a strange feeling, and scurried off in that direction through the grass and underbrush of Duscae. It could sense the energies of living beings, like all daemons could, and this one was strange. A mix of human and daemon, yet somehow distinct from the feel of someone infected. As it came to the point where the plant cover stopped and a clearing began, it noticed an issue: a Haven, one of very few places that daemons couldn’t go even at night, and on it sat two humans, one of which was the anomaly.

It paced back and forth, hidden within the foliage still, as it considered its next move. If it bolted out, it risked being attacked on the spot. Yet it couldn’t wait, as humans never left the safety of a Haven until sunrise unless they had good reason. Good reason… yes, it could work with that. Humans were surprisingly compassionate creatures, and so it began to whimper and whine like an injured animal, though it couldn’t get the daemonic twinge out of its vocalizations.

Both humans looked towards the sounds it made. The larger one seemed prepared to fight, but the anomalous one had the soft glimmer of kindness in his golden eyes.

“Gil, I’ll go--”

“Ardyn, no. It’s bound to be a daemon.”

Ardyn rolled his eyes. “Or it could be the  _ victim _ of a daemon, and you know it’s my duty to tend to them,” he stated matter-of-factly as he stood up. “Besides, either I can handle myself, or you’re an abysmal teacher~” he teased.

The daemon watched intently as Ardyn approached. He was cautious, but didn’t look like a threat. Once he was within a few feet, the daemon chose to reveal itself. It was fairly small, about the size and general shape of a medium-sized dog, though its snout and tail were decidedly lizard-like and it was unnaturally rounded at the edges like a tonberry. Its pure black coloration was only broken by a pair of large, round eyes, blue and so bright that they faintly glowed in the darkness.

Realizing what he was faced with, Ardyn took a step back as a sword materialized in his hand, seemingly crafted from crystalline magic. His gaze turned hard and his muscles tensed, ready to strike at any provocation.

He was rightfully confused, then, when the daemon quickly sat back on its haunches and held up its front paws, which resembled those of raccoons. It had seen humans use the gesture in the aftermath of the Astral War, when less scrupulous folk would take food and goods from those lucky enough to still have their possessions, often doing so by force, yet the ones who made the gesture were usually allowed to stay the night without trouble.

Ardyn’s brow furrowed as he took in the sight and slowly crouched down to be more at eye level with the creature. “Are you… attempting to communicate?” he inquired. The daemon nodded. “You… don’t wish to harm me?” Nod. “But you’re a daemon,” nod, “and the one that made those noises?” Nodnod. He stared for a while longer, confused yet intrigued, until he decided to let his sword vanish and sat down more comfortably.

The daemon followed suit and put its paws down so that it sat as one would expect a dog to. It was a strange creature, Ardyn noted, even for a daemon. He’d seen plenty of the Scourge-beasts during his journey and most tended to share traits with other seemingly related kinds, yet this one was unlike anything he’d seen. His best guess was that it was a mutant tonberry, but that was a stretch, especially considering its lack of typical tonberry behavior. Not to mention that there was something about its eyes -- about the way it looked at him -- that made him feel like this one was unique. Possibly even intelligent, in the way that even most animals and beasts aren’t.

After a couple minutes of silent staring, the daemon got up on its feet and began to slowly walk around Ardyn in a tight circle, trying to get a feel for him without making contact. It was grateful that the human allowed it so easily, merely watching it in turn. It didn’t learn much, but it was satisfied, so it sat down again, this time closer to Ardyn. It wasn’t able to sit for long, however, as it leaped back when Ardyn tried to reach out for it.

Ardyn tilted his head, curious and a touch hurt. “I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?” He figured he might as well treat the daemon as if it was sentient, if only to see just how much it understood.

The daemon gave a look akin to that of a guilty dog as it tried to think of a way to explain. At first it tried to mimic human speech, but it stopped once it realized that it could only growl and snarl no matter how much it tried to do otherwise. After more thinking, it opened its mouth and let a goopy black tongue loll out and drip a few drops of Scourge. It then pointed its snout to the Scourge, then to Ardyn, and then whined sadly.

Ardyn stared at the thing in confusion as he tried to puzzle out the meaning of what he’d seen. “Scourge, me, and you being upset… You’re… worried about infecting me…?” he asked, incredulous at the thought of a daemon worrying about a human’s well-being. The daemon nodded and Ardyn couldn’t hold back his surprised laughter. “I never thought I’d see the day when a daemon not only didn’t want to kill me, but didn’t even want to spread the Scourge~! Not that it’s a bad thing, mind -- honestly I’m glad for the change. But you needn’t worry about me, little one. I cannot be infected, a useful side effect given that I can cure others by taking the infection into myself,” he explained as he held out his hand again, this time letting the daemon approach as it wanted.

It took a moment for all of the information to sink in, at which point it made an excited yip-like noise. That’s what was unusual about him! The Scourge wasn’t taking over like it always did in other humans and creatures! And clearly Ardyn wasn’t afraid of it, so the daemon trotted over and rubbed its head against his hand and made the most contented sound it was capable of. It had never experienced positive physical contact and it actually felt… good? It wasn’t really sure since it had never felt particularly ‘good’ before, but it was a positive thing, so it must be good.

Ardyn laughed lightly and proceeded to give the dog-like daemon all manner of pets and pats and scritches and even a tummy rub. All good things had to come to an end eventually, though. “I’m glad I met you, little one,” he said as he pulled his hand away, wincing slightly as he absorbed the Scourge residue on his hand. “Truly, you are the most fascinating of your kind I’ve encountered, and I enjoyed our time together. But I’m sure you know humans need to sleep, and so I must return to the safety of the Haven. Farewell, and stay safe out there~” With that, he got up and left the little daemon, who obediently let Ardyn leave without complaint before slinking back into the darkness of the foliage.

As Ardyn settled down to have dinner with Gil, he could swear he saw glimpses of curious blue eyes still watching him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so, I'm not dead! Enjoy the new chapter! And for any newcomers, this fic has literally nothing to do with Episode Ardyn-related things, though I might grab a detail or two from there going forward~

Days passed as Ardyn and Gilgamesh traveled across Duscae, searching out farms, villages, and anywhere else that might have people in need of Ardyn’s healing gift. They made sure to travel and do their work only during the day so that they’d have plenty of time to return to a Haven at night. Even the future Healer King and his Shield knew well enough to fear the daemons that emerged at night.

Except for their newest friend, of course.

No matter how far they traveled, the little dog-like daemon with the intelligent blue eyes always showed up once they settled onto a Haven for the night. Gil still didn’t trust it, but Ardyn was more than happy to give it some attention each night. It was something like having a pet, and Ardyn enjoyed being able to look forward to the daemon’s presence after a long day.

One night, however, Ardyn had a message for the daemon after their regular play time.

“It pains me to say this, little one, but we won’t be able to see each other again for a few days,” he told the daemon softly, and got a little whine in response. “I’m sorry, but Gil and I will reach a large village tomorrow, and we will stay there as long as it takes to help everyone,” he explained further. “The village will likely be too bright for you and I wouldn’t want you to risk scaring the villagers and getting hurt anyway. Okay?”

The daemon whined softly but nodded. It knew better than to approach people normally. Ardyn was the one exception since he was practically part-daemon, even if he didn’t look or act like it. After a moment of consideration, it nuzzled its head against Ardyn’s chest and gave his cheek a little lick.

Ardyn smiled warmly and couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll miss you too, little one, but I promise we’ll be together again soon enough~” he purred in reassurance.

The little daemon nodded a few times and gave Ardyn one more lick on his cheek, then ran off into the underbrush as it always did. Once Ardyn went to bed, it scurried off with an idea in its head…

~~~~~

Days later, Ardyn and Gil once more found a Haven where they could rest, and the Healer practically collapsed onto his butt as he sat down. “Gods, Gil. It feels like no matter what I do, these villages get harder and harder to Heal,” he complained, acting a little bratty to hide how worried he was by the fact. He knew the issue had more to do with himself and how the amount of Scourge he carried within him only increased with everyone he Healed.

Gil frowned sympathetically as he started up the night’s fire. “I know. And yet you never let the people know as you continue to do your duty. It’s admirable. I’m not sure even I could do as well in your position.”

Ardyn laughed lightly, sounding so very tired. “Hollow flattery doesn’t suit you, Gil; that said, I’ll take all of it anyway~” he teased. He glanced off to the side and grinned as he spied a familiar pair of glowing blue eyes. “Well now, it seems our usual visitor is here~” he noted as he practically dragged himself off the Haven and sat a safe distance away from the anti-daemon magic. When the daemon made its way into the light of the campfire, he gasped in shock.

What came out of the shrubbery wasn’t a dog-like daemon, but something more akin to a scraggly tonberry: it had a big, round head with those big eyes of its, but otherwise its body was thin and angular, with a jagged tail rather than the fishlike one associated with tonberries and some long, zig-zaggy… horns? Ears? Well, something, atop its head. It was still pure black though, and combined with its blue eyes, it was very obviously the same daemon Ardyn had befriended. Before Ardyn could react, it opened its mouth and…

_”Aaaaa-dyyyy~”_ Its voice was growly and distorted, and it didn’t seem to have a full grasp of the sounds needed for language, but it definitely _talked._

For several long moments, Ardyn could only stare in silence, utterly flabbergasted at the turn of events. “...Y-you. Did you just… speak?” he asked dumbly.

The daemon nodded and took a few steps forward. _”Yeeeeee~ Praaaaaak-tiiiii-d fooooo Aaaaa-dyyyy~”_

Ardyn blinked. “...You did this for me? And your new form, was that…?”

_”Liiiiiiii-k Aaaaa-dyyyy. Waaaaan taaaaaa-k toooo Aaaaa-dyyyy. Wooooooo-k haaaaaaaaa-d whiiiiiii Aaaaa-dyyyy goooooo-n,”_ it explained. _"Loooooo-k liiiii-k Aaaaa-dyyyy toooooo, mooooo-r saaaaaa-m moooooo-r goooooo~”_

He needed time to process what the daemon had said and broke into a grin when he figured it out. “You wanted to be more like me so we could do more together~?” The daemon nodded enthusiastically. “Why, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so special, especially not from a daemon~ Then again, you’re pretty special as well, aren’t you? I think you might even deserve a name…”

“Ardyn, don’t,” Gil warned. “Whatever that daemon is, it’s clearly dangerous if it could change its shape and learn to speak so quickly.”

“So quickly…” Ardyn mused. “That’s it! How would you like the name ‘Prompto,’ little one~? It means ‘quick’ just like your learning speed~”

The daemon grinned and hopped excitedly as it clapped its hands together. _“Proooo-toooo~!”_ it exclaimed, so very happy at the idea of having a name.

“Alright, Prompto it is, then~!” Ardyn decided, pointedly ignoring Gil’s exasperated groan from back on the Haven. “Now, why don’t you get over here so we can spend some time together~?” he asked sweetly.

The daemon - Prompto - nodded and scampered over and even decided to sit in Ardyn’s lap. _”Aaaaa-dyyyy~”_ it purred happily.

Ardyn smiled warmly and gently pet Prompto’s head. “Such a precious, unique being you are. I’ve seen more people, beasts, and daemons than nearly anyone on Eos, yet you’re the only one of your kind I know of.” He sighed. “There will come a day when I’ll have to get rid of you, to prevent you from spreading the Scourge, even accidentally… but I promise I’ll save you for last. So until then, stay safe for me, okay?”

_”Proooo-toooo doooooo~ Proooo-toooo staaaaaa aaaa-waaaa frooooo huuuu-maaaaa aaaaaan daaee-mooo~”_ it replied, promising it would stay away from things that could hurt it.

He smiled more and gently kissed the top of Prompto’s head. “Thank you~ It’s good to have a friend besides Gil on my journey~”

Prompto looked up at Ardyn and practically beamed. _”Friiiiiiiiieeeeee-n~!!!”_ It wasn’t sure if it had a heart, but it certainly felt warm and fuzzy inside at being called a friend~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw, i personally envision Prompto's new form as a cross between your standard KH Heartless and the Pokemon Sableye.  
> also if his dialogue is hard to understand, here's a translation for each bit:  
> "Ardyn~"  
> "Yes~ Practiced for Ardyn~"  
> "Like Ardyn. Want talk to Ardyn. Work hard while Ardyn gone. Look like Ardyn too, more same more good."  
> "Prompto~!"  
> "Ardyn~"  
> "Prompto do~ Prompto stay away from humans and daemons~"  
> "Friend~!!!"


End file.
